The ISRM Secretariat has been headquartered in Lisbon, Portugal, at the Portuguese National Laboratory for Civil Engineering (LNEC) since 1966, date of the first ISRM Congress, when Prof. Manuel Rocha was elected as President of the ISRM. He appointed Prof. F. Mello Mendes as Secretary General, who performed the charge up to 1968, being followed by Dr Ricardo Oliveira 1968-1974, Dr Arnaldo Silvério 1974-1983, Mr Nuno Grossmann 1983-1987, Dr J.G. Charrua Graça 1987-1990, Dr J. Delgado Rodrigues 1990-2003 and Dr Luís N. Lamas since 2003.